Slytherin.Sock.Love

I finished the first of my Slytherin socks this weekend and began work on the second one. I’ve been enjoying this project so much. I absolutely love this yarn and it just may be my favorite colorway I’ve used to date. I’m doing Cookie A.’s Monkey pattern and it’s such a great pattern to knit. I love the way it looks and it’s so easy to memorize. I really like not having to have my pattern with me to work on these. I’ve been taking my time (relatively, I started them last Sunday night and I’ve over 55% done) because I’m enjoying the process so much. It’s been so nice to use my favorite needles (ChiaGoo RED) with my favorite yarn (Blue Moon STR – colorway is Mr. Green Jeans).

I got a much larger tax refund than I expected this year. I was able to pay off a substantial portion of my debt (just the mortgage and one student loan remain!) and had money leftover to put away for landscaping this spring, a snowblower (it’s snowing right now – again – ugh), and a bit of a yarn shopping spree. I bought some more stripey yarn from KnitPicks, some more Blue Moon STR, and the yarn I intend to use to make a special shawl for my grandma’s 90th birthday.

All the new yarn I’ve gotten, and the knowledge that more is on the way, has motivated me to get some things done. I put in some time on the drop stitch scarf, which has been sitting untouched for weeks. I worked on some colorwork mittens, and made some good progress on the knee socks. I’d really like to wrap up a few projects and start something new!

GrrrArrrgh!!!

I finally finished the Corded Clutch earlier this week. I was happy to finally wrap up the project. I did the knitting in two days and then took almost a month to get the materials to complete it.

I finally bought some heavy black cloth and a great button to complete the project, and my friend Oona taught me how to sew a lining. I made a rectangular bottomed lining to fit inside the bag with heavy fabric to help it keep its shape. I’ve seen some other pictures of these clutches and they can look pretty awful without some structure and the cord is very droopy on its own.

Next, I glued some fabric to a piece of cardboard cut to fit perfectly into the lining and to give further structure and shape to the clutch.

Once it dried I glued it into the bottom of the lining, let it dry, and whip stitched the lining into the bag. Then I waited two more days to sew on the button. I just couldn’t make myself work on it. Finally, I made a small 4-strand braid from the leftover cord for the button loop, sewed on the button, and sewed in the loop.

This wasn’t a very enjoyable project. The Noro cord is really pretty but also really hard to knit with and figuring out what to do with the ends was difficult. I ended up dipping them in glue to stop them from unraveling, which was a big headache. But, it was good to learn some new sewing techniques and I’m pretty happy with the end result.

I’ve mostly been working on the Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings this week. The more I use this yarn the more I hate it. It’s terribly thick and thin and the color changes seem entirely random. There are parts of the skein that seem almost like laceweight or thread and other parts that feel as thick as DK. The different skeins don’t seem to have the same color repeats at all and I’m not thrilled with some of the color sequences.

I am enjoying the pattern and it’s the first pair of socks I’ve made with a pattern on the heel (pics to follow when I’m finished). I just can’t wait to finish and then I swear I’ll never use this yarn again. Curse you Mini Mochi! Earlier tonight I caked some Blue Moon yarn to use for my next project to wash away the bitter taste of bad yarn. I’m looking forward to using some yarn that I really love on my next project!

“I’ll soot you with my two pipe sotgun”

My sister’s birthday is this week and yesterday we celebrated with the family. I had a delicious bacon, egg, and cheeseburger (a fried egg on a burger = magic) and then felt like an overstuffed sausage ready to burst from its casing for the rest of the day. I made her a pair of beaded birthday socks that, amazingly, were finished in only six days.

I loved this pattern and will definitely be making it again. They are the “Kaiso” socks from Knitted Socks East and West. It was difficult to get a picture that actually showed the beads but they show up pretty well when worn. I used 60 silver-lined crystal beads per sock.

I re-started the Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings this weekend – I must conquer the pattern! I’m using Crystal Palace Mini Mochi for the first time (colorway = 105 Tapesty Rainbow). It’s really “splitty” – almost like roving – and I feel like there are a lot of thicker and thinner segments in the yarn, which I’m less than thrilled with. I also found a pretty bad knot in one of the skeins when I wound it into a ball. I really love how the colors gradually transition but I’m not yet really loving the giant orange section. The second sock is definitely not going to match up but I’m okay with it. This will be my first pair of knee socks.

I’m working on finishing up the Noro “Corded” clutch this weekend. With the help of my friend Oona, I was able to sew a lining and she found an amazing button which is going to be the perfect finishing touch. I’m currently waiting for some glue to dry for the bottom piece and then I can sew it all together…

She’s a full-on Monet

“It’s like a painting, see? From far away, it’s OK, but up close, it’s a big old mess.” – Cher Horowitz, Clueless

That pretty much describes the Haruni shawl post blocking.

I finally got around to getting some pictures of my sister in her Christmas shawl. Isn’t she cute?

Sonja has always been one of my favorite people to knit for because she always seems to really appreciate it and I know she actually wears what I make for her.

Sunday night, about an hour before bedtime, I finally ripped out the stripey brown and green socks and started a new pattern with the yarn (Blueberry Waffle Socks). Last night I finished the first sock (seriously, two nights later). This has really been a good lesson for me about choosing the correct yarn for the correct project. The first pattern I chose called for fingering weight yarn, was insanely ginormous and I barely made any progress. The second pattern was written for DK weight yarn (mine is sport weight) and absolutely flew off the needles. To give you a better idea of how awful the sizing on the first attempt was, there were 32 fewer stitches cast on for the new pattern.

It’s currently 8 degrees with a windchill in the negative numbers. It was a good opportunity to wear my new pink hat for the first time and it did not disappoint me. Back to work on those socks now…

Knitter’s Remorse

This weekend, following a lovely afternoon of Chipotle and Lifetime original movies with my friend Steph, I made my first visit to Crafty Planet to use the Christmas gift certificate she gave me. The staff were great and the store itself was wonderful. The fabric was amazingly cute and really made me wish I knew how to sew. I used my gift certificate on this:

I also made my first hat this weekend. It’s a Yarn Harlot pattern called “An Unoriginal Hat” and I made it with some Rowan Big Wool. I finished it in one sitting and it was a pretty easy pattern to follow. It’s a little big for my head so I may end up gifting it to someone else.

And, I finally finished knitting and binding off my Haruni shawl. I finished it in less than half a month and didn’t even work on it every day. The blocking process was challenging and I had to re-do it once. I love how it goes from this (pre-blocking):

To this (mid-blocking):

Once it’s dry I’ll take some better pictures. I’m moderately happy with the results and I’m pretty sure I’ll use the pattern again, next time with a more solid colored yarn.

I’m still trying to decide to what to do with the striped Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings. They are absolutley too big and I’ve pretty much (finally) come to terms with the fact that they will need to be frogged. I’ve even selected a different pattern for the yarn. I’m not quite ready to actually rip it out though. Le sigh.

BacoKnitting & Re-Knitting & Re-Knitting

I have several projects in the works right now. I’m 10 rows away from finishing up the Haruni Shawl. I’m at the point where each row is taking over 30 minutes so I’ve got a little time to put in on it before it’s ready for blocking but I’m getting pretty excited.

I recently finished my first beaded knitting project. My friend Michelle did a little instruction over our lunch break and after three unsuccessful attempts at the Channel Island cast-on (also a new technique for me), I got them done. The cast-on makes an incredibly stretchy cuff that almost looks like picot – very cute.

I pre-strung 126 seed beads onto my yarn per sock and followed Michelle’s pattern. She calls them “Beaded Surprise Socks” because the beads are all in the purled part of the ribbing so they don’t show up until you pull them wide or put them on (Surprise!).

Mine didn’t show up quite as much as I had hoped since I used a variegated yarn, but I’m pretty happy with them nonetheless and I’m hooked on bead knitting now. I went out to Bobby Bead in Uptown and bought some more beads to use on future projects.

The beaded socks were my first time using Pagewood Farms sock yarn and it quickly became a new favorite of mine. It has a very tight twist that reminds me of Blue Moon Socks That Rock but it’s closer to a lace weight. It feels great on your hands while you’re using it. I went out the next week and bought another skein at StevenBe and then got this one through a Ravelry trade which I purchased with the money from my first pattern sales.

Over the weekend I knitted up a clutch (Corded) with some Noro cord that I bought on craigslist. I’m not too sure if I like it yet. It definitely has to be lined and it really could use some structure. It was a little difficult to get even tension with this “yarn” and it doesn’t feel great on your hands. I heard many people had problems with it slipping off their needles but I had no issues since I used wood circular needles and adapted the pattern for Magic Loop after I knitted the base. The pooling is kind of interesting – it’s always fun to see how your yarn goes from this:

To this:

I also started a pair of socks for my dad in KnitPicks Felici (colorway = Ecology) using the “Gentleman’s Shooting Stockings” pattern from Nancy Bush’s book, Knitting Vintage Socks. This is the second pattern I’ve used from this book and I love it so far. I’m having some trouble obtaining the correct number of stitches since the pattern calls for a Size 0 needle with fingering weight yarn and I’m using a Size 1.5 needle with sport weight yarn. It looks like I may have to cast on again but for now I’m continuing to work on it while constantly questioning whether I need to rip it out and start again.

So far 2011 has been a year of ripping out and starting over. The beaded socks took three cast-ons, the corded bag took two, and I’m almost certain these socks will be frogged and redone any day now. Le sigh… And speaking of false starts, yesterday I began work on a drop stitch scarf which took three cast-on attempts. The pattern is really easy and looks pretty cool. I’m using KnitPicks Imagination (colorway = Seven Dwarves) and it’s my first project using my beautiful new Harmony Wood Straight Needle Set.

BacoKnitter Designs – Launch

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. I used to keep a Diaryland diary and then did Live Journal for awhile but haven’t really been writing for years now. So, I’m a little nervous. I’m not sure if I’m going to try to write primarily about knitting here or just generally about a variety of topics.

I had an exciting week. My friend Beth finished my banner images and logo and they couldn’t be more awesome. I keep opening my patterns and just staring at the banner and grinning. I launched my Ravelry Store this week and had over 100 downloads on my first night. I put up two free patterns and one paid pattern and have already made a few sales (and immediately spent it on yarn).

My first free pattern is for my knitted bacon. It can be made with scrap yarn (takes very little) and is incredibly easy. The ripples are done simply by changing your tension when binding off.

Free Download | Ravelry

I also published my pattern for the basket weave mittens I made for my sister’s boyfriend this Christmas. I had a difficult time writing this pattern – we’ll see if other people can follow my instructions…

Free Download | Ravelry

My first paid pattern was for the Cylon Centurion mittens I designed. Beth picked them up yesterday and is hopefully happy with our time trade.

Buy (Ravelry)

I’m currently working on a pair of beaded socks (my first time knitting with beads) and the Haruni shawl. I’m using Blue Moon yarn (my favorite) in “Waterlilies” and I’m really loving it. It may be a bit too variegated to see the pattern but I don’t really care. I keep thinking of Cher Horowitz (“She’s a full-on monet.”) while I’m working on it. Maybe I’ll watch Clueless while I knit.

I met a woman from craigslist at Calhoun Square yesterday to buy some yarn. I got some really beautiful stuff for a really good price and I’ve been surfing around Ravelry all morning looking up possible projects to use with my new yarn.

I’m working on writing patterns for my hot water bottle cozy, a fantastic pair of felted slippers that are knit in one piece with a chart (almost no seaming!), and another simple mitten pattern (all will be free).

Snowed In…

We had a true blizzard in Minneapolis this weekend (over 16 inches in my neighborhood).  I can’t get out the front or back door of my house and couldn’t be happier to be inside with my kitties watching old movies and knitting.

This weekend I finished Steph’s fishy mitts.  I made another parchment tag with hand-lettered washing instructions in calligraphy and I think she’ll really like them. I know she gets cold at work and these should allow her to still use the computer but with a little added warmth.

I also blocked Beth’s Battlestar Mittens and I am ecstatic with the results.  I can’t wait until she sees them!

I love the mittens but they were really labor-intensive. I estimate between 24-26 hours to complete all the knitting and weaving in. I’ve been working on writing the pattern and I think I’m finished. It’s my first time writing a pattern and it’s been interesting. It’s a different language and a different style of writing. I hope it’s going to be comprehensible. Since it’s my first real pattern and I don’t know much about intellectual property issues I’m going to make it a free one. Hopefully soon.

Today I’m working on some mittens for my grandpa that I’m making up as I go. I’ve had Harry Potter on the brain (“Isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number?”) so I’m doing my row counts and pattern repeats all in multiples of seven. They look great so far. I’m making them a little larger than normal so I can line them with microfleece.

Holiday Gift Knitting

I’m making good progress on my holiday gift knitting.  I found wrapping paper at Michaels that looks knitted and I love how it looks all wrapped up so far.

I’ve also been working on my Battlestar Galactica mittens for Beth. I’m using metallic red and black yarn for the cylon visors and they look fantastic. I’ve ordered some fleece to line them and I’m getting excited to finish them and get the pattern up. I think I’ve got it ready for test knitting. I finished and wrapped a shawl for my sister, a pair of mittens for my sister’s boyfriend, a pair of felted slippers for my grandma, washcloths for a friend, and half a pair of fingerless gloves for my friend Steph.

I’m attaching tags to some of my gifted knitting with fiber content and washing instructions (like these Star Trek washcloths for my Trekkie friend, Justin).